PRACTICE SHEET ANSWER SCHEME

Subject: English Topic: Dust of Snow

Grade: X Div: Roll No: Date:

Q1 Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
(a) Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
i. Who shook the dust of snow and from where?
The crow sitting on the hemlock tree shook the dust of snow from the tree.
ii. What change occurred in the poet?
When a crow shook down the ‘dust of snow’ on him, his bitter mood changed
into a more optimistic one.
iii. What do the ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ symbolise?
The ‘crow’ is a black, harsh-voiced bird and ‘hemlock’ is a tree with a poisonous
bitter fruit. Both are not beautiful. They represent the dark, depressive,
sorrowful and bitter side of nature.
iv. Find the synonym of the word ‘rattled’.
shook

(b) Has given my heart

A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
i. Of what change does the poet mention here?
The poet mentions the change of mood here.

CB/X/ Dust of Page 1 of

 PRACTICE SHEET ANSWER SCHEME

ii. Whose part of the day has been saved?

The poet’s part of the day has been saved.

iii. What did the poet think of that day?

The poet had earlier wasted that day, but later saved the part of the day after his
mood changed.
iv. Give the synonym of ‘rued’.
regretted

Q2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words.

(a) What does the poet want to convey through the poem ‘Dust of Snow’?
In the poem ‘Dust of Snow’, the poet wants to convey that sometimes certain
moments or actions which are simple have larger significance. They can change
the mood or life of a person. The way a crow shakes down dust of snow on the
poet inspires and gives him the idea to shake off his depressive thoughts,
become cheerful and do something useful.
(b) Justify the role of the crow in the poem ‘Dust of Snow’ in changing the poet’s mood.
The way the snow dust was shaken off’ changed the poet’s mood. Perhaps it
gave the poet inspiration/idea to behave in the same manner—shake off his
depressive thoughts and revive his cheerful mood.

Q3 Answer the following questions in 100-120 words.

(a) Our attitude towards a situation evokes both negative and positive response. Analyze
this with reference to the poem, ‘Dust of Snow’.
Whatever situation life throws at us, it evokes both positive and negative
responses. The poet, in the poem ‘Dust of Snow,’ was in a sorrowful mood.
However, when a crow shook down the ‘dust of snow’ on him, his bitter mood
changed into a more optimistic one. Now, being in a sorrowful or bad mood
already, the poet could have got angry at the crow also. However, the dust of
snow becomes a positive medium of change for him. It made him cheerful to

CB/X/ Dust of Page 2 of

 PRACTICE SHEET ANSWER SCHEME

some extent and helped him forget his sadness, at least for a few moments.
Thus, we see that instead of seeing the negative aspect, one should see the
positive aspect, and one’s response may greatly affect the outcome of incident.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

CB/X/ Dust of Page 3 of